Friday, January 4, 2019, Brian Herrick

Title: This debut is his BEST effort.

Happy New year from Friday and we begin 2019 with a new constructor. We are back to themes with the maiden effort from our fourth constructor named Brian. I guess I should welcome him with this Link. Welcome, Brian. Today we have three themers and a two-part reveal. It is another missing word puzzle, as close to a rebus as Rich Norris allows -so far. With 49 theme squares, we are given lots of longer fill. ADD ONTO, AMOROUS, ASSUMES, DRUNKEN, EGOLESS, EMERALD, LEONARD, MAGENTA, PIE SHOP, RIHANNA, SENDERS, SORROWS, and STRIPES which I like better than Sunday's stipes. Nice triple-stacked 7s in each corner, but some very challenging fill. I await your reaction.

17A. Give it the old college try: DO ONE'S LEVEL BEST (11).

27A. Benchmarks on the way to mastery: GOOD BETTER BEST. (10).

41A. "Please don't expect any more from me": I'M TRYING MY BEST. (10).

40D. With 51-Across, Sinatra classic, and a hint to completing three puzzle answers: THE BEST. (7)

51A. See 40-Down: IS YET TO COME (11). Time to let Frank sing us into the solve. 

Across:

1. Logician Turing: ALAN. A very important figure in the birth of computers and computers science who sadly was driven to suicide for the way he was treated as a gay. LINK.

5. 15-Across protagonist: RIPLEY. Sigourney Weaver was this character in  15A. 1986 sci-fi sequel: ALIENS.

11. HMO group: MDS.

14. Try out, briefly: DEMO.

16. Exist: ARE.

19. Spray __: GUN. Not my first or second thought but real. They have changed from when I was spraying the roses in my father's garden to keep the aphids away.

20. It's no exit: ON RAMP.

21. Start of a cheer: SIS. Boom bah- cheerleading chant, originally (1867) an echoic phrase imitating the sound of a skyrocket flight ( sis ), the burst of the fireworks ( boom ), and the reaction of the crowd (bah). Dictionary.com.


22. Await judgment: PEND. Judges wait all the time.

23. Woman in the Book of Ruth: NAOMI. She was the mother-in-law to whom Ruth, the Moabite,  pledged her life after her husband died. "And Ruth said: 'Entreat me not to leave thee and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." Another puzzle coincidence after early week comments.

24. Sailing pronoun: SHE.

25. "Much appreciated," in Munich: DANKE. Thanks in German.

26. Aligned: TRUE. Carpentry term.

29. Pigs out (on): ODS.

30. One may be rolled out in a stadium: TARP.

31. Plenty: OCEANS. Very vague, if ultimately correct. I was oodles for tow long.

32. Lip-thrusting look: POUT.

33. N.Y.C. part: YORK.

34. Make even smoother: RESAND.

37. N.W.A rapper __-E: EAZY. This PERFORMER died young, after starting out with ICE CUBE and Dr. Dre, from Compton, California.

38. Posed: SAT.

43. Comedian Daniel: TOSH.

44. Start of an old late-night intro: HERE'S.

45. Daybreak deity: EOS. I used to get this fill regularly.

46. "It's __ than I thought": WORSE.

47. Nothing like wetlands: ARID.

48. Screech __: OWL.

49. Garden of Eden protector: CHERUB. The first mention of cherubs is found in Genesis 3:24: "He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." Var.

50. Carpet feature: NAP.

53. Phillies' div.: NLE. What a convenient set of letters.

54. Effective deal maker: CLOSER. No politics.

55. Amazes: AWES.

56. Eight minutes of the average sitcom: ADS. Out of a 30-minute show.

57. Puts up: HOUSES.

58. "Hey, you!": PSST.

Down:

1. Expand, as a residence: ADD ON TO. My father built an addition to our house in the late 50s to have a larger kitchen and a family room with a pool table.

2. Conductor Bernstein: LEONARD. One of the first American born conductors to achieve worldwide fame, 2018 was his centennial year.

                                                                 LINK

3. Lovey-dovey: AMOROUS.

4. Generic: NONAME.

5. Filing aid: RASP. A coarse file, or a hoarse voice, which could mean you are...

6. Down with something: ILL.

7. Mrs. Lovett's business in Broadway's "Sweeney Todd": PIE SHOP. It was the filling that was so filling. The PLOT.

8. Imposed: LEVIED. Like a fine or taxes.

9. NBA center __ Kanter: ENES. I understand liking the letters but a  center for a bad team who is no longer a STARTER?

10. Fashion initials: YSL. Yves is back.

11. Purple shade: MAGENTA. The queen wears this color.

12. Like a bar free-for-all: DRUNKEN. Or noodles.

13. Emailers: SENDERS.

18. Old U.K. record label: EMI.

22. Luxury watch brand __ Philippe: PATEK.

24. Database function: SORT.

25. Rail against: DECRY.

27. Catalonian architect Antoni __: GAUDI. Catalan architect, whose distinctive style is characterized by freedom of form, voluptuous color and texture, and organic unity. Gaudí worked almost entirely in or near Barcelona.  LINK. A total learning moment.

28. See 12-Down: BOOZY.

30. "Hamilton" got 11: TONYS.

32. Trimmed: PARED.

33. Orange tubers: YAMS.

34. "Rude Boy" singer: RIHANNA. Performed at a concert in RIO one of my old law partners is involved in setting up. LINK. Some profanity.

35. May birthstone: EMERALD.

36. 1981 Bill Murray military comedy: STRIPES. One of the many hilarious comedies which Harold Ramis wrote in which Bill Murray appeared. How many can you name?

37. Small-headed?: EGOLESS. An odd clue/fill combination.

38. Sad subjects: SORROWS.

39. Takes over the duties of: ASSUMES. Responsibility.

42. What diets and beauticians may promise, with "a": NEW YOU.

43. It covers the end of the foot: TOE CAP. I guess you can buy a piece of material (such as leather) covering the toe of a shoe and reinforcing or decorating it

46. "__ cares!": WHO. I do.

48. Nobel Peace Prize city: OSLO.

49. Hubs: Abbr.: CTRS. Centers.

51. German I: ICH. An excuse to link the outrageous EDDIE IZZARD. The link is obscene and filled with controversy but damn funny.

52. Fore site?: TEE. A golfing pun to end our journey.


A new year, a new constructor and your same old Friday sherpa. It was a challenging puzzle; the theme was easy but it was still lots of work. I hope you enjoyed the puzzling puzzle. Lemonade out.

Thursday, January 3rd 2019 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: Retirement Party - all the theme entries pun on the hang-up-your-boots topic:

17A. Watchmakers never retire, they just __: WIND DOWN. One of my favorites, along with 12D.

20A. Musicians never retire, they just __: DECOMPOSE. This one is a little bit of an outlier to my mind. I'd say that a musician and a composer are two different animals. That's just me being hyper-critical though.

39A. Beekeepers never retire, they just __: BUZZ OFF.

55A. Tree surgeons never retire, they just __: BRANCH OUT.

61A. Teachers never retire, they just __: MARK TIME. Some teachers are giving up marking homework, citing research that says it doesn't help the student improve in any way. Instead, they have interactive discussion with each student on the work that was submitted.

12D. Farmers never retire, they just __: GO TO SEED.

38D. Lumberjacks never retire, they just __: PINE AWAY.

A neat theme from Pawel, and in fact I'm surprised that it hasn't been done before. Both across and down theme entries, and both the downs interlock with one of the acrosses, that's neat. The rest of the construction and the fill are solid with just one (personal) grumble for my first blog of 2019.

Let's see what else we've got that catches the eye:

Across:

1. Save for later: LAY ASIDE.

9. Place to doodle: MARGIN. I tried napkin first.

15. Smooth talker: OPERATOR. Released in 1984, Sade's album coincided with the emerging CD music boom. It seemed like everyone I knew had a copy of it to be played at every dinner party.

16. 1969 World Series competitor: ORIOLE.

18. Elite area of the pop charts: TOP TEN.

19. Passionate about: INTO.

22. Beetle-shaped artifact: SCARAB.

25. Grad school grillings: ORALS.

26. FDA overseer: HHS. The US Department for Heath & Human Services. I didn't actually know what HHS stood for until today.

27. Urban network: ROADS.

30. First name in architecture: EERO. Very influential figure in architecture and industrial design. Here's the iconic TWA Terminal at JFK which opened in 1962:

33. Prime letters?: USDA. Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner are the seven grades of beef. Most of the Prime beef goes to restaurants and hotels.

34. Acclimate gradually: EASE IN.

36. One not seen on "MTV Unplugged": AMP. Not quite true, but you get the idea. Generally there are no electric instruments. You still need amps for the vocal and acoustic mics. There were some really great sessions in the series.

41. Anonymous surname: DOE.

42. Pal: PAISAN.

44. Polish language: EDIT. Very nice misdirection here - polish as in hone, rather than slavic.

45. Actress Collette of "United States of Tara": TONI. Thank you, crosses.

46. "Chasing Pavements" singer: ADELE. I think Adele might be winning the "singers in crosswords" count at this point.

47. Some mil. hospitals: VA'S.

50. Spew out: EGEST. Not ERUPT them. That set me off down the wrong track for a while.

53. White weasel: ERMINE. Ermine fur is (or was) used on a lot of ceremonial costume.

59. State categorically: AVER.

60. Ides of March word: BEWARE. "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!"

64. Roughly three nautical miles: LEAGUE. So Jules Verne's Captain Nemo sailed 60,000 miles submerged in Nautilus. That's about three circumnavigations of the earth, quite a feat.

65. Often-fried tropical fruit: PLANTAIN. Food! I spent some time trying to think of another commonly-fried fruit and came up empty-handed (battered and deep-fried doesn't count).

66. Least candid: SLYEST.

67. It may be diagrammed: SENTENCE. Seems like a lot of work, I don't really see the point, to be honest.

Down:

1. On the paltry side, as an offer: LOWISH.

2. Between-finger-and-thumb quantity: A PINCH.

3. They mind your own business: YENTAS. Nice clue, this one made me laugh out loud.

4. Fervor: ARDOR.

5. Glum: SAD.

6. "What was __ do?": I TO.

7. Columnist Maureen: DOWD.

8. Marine eagle: ERNE.

9. Hustle: MOTOR.

10. Kitchen magnet?: AROMA.

11. Gentle waves: RIPPLES.

13. Dots in la mer: ÎLES. Your french lesson for the day. Paris sits in the middle of the Île-de-France region, an "island" within the larger landmass of the country itself.

14. Aloha State bird: NENE.

21. Prefix with play: COS. Cosplay, a portmanteau of costume+play. Some excellent examples of cosplay can be seen each year at Comic-con in San Diego.

23. Oranjestad's island: ARUBA. Stab in the dark, but I knew Aruba was part of the Dutch West Indies at some point, so it made sense.

24. Petty officer: BOSUN. Contraction of boatswain.

28. Woodworking tool: ADZ. You can "adds" an E if you like!

29. Out of it: DAZED.

31. __ Grande: RIO.

32. Only partner?: ONE. The one-and-only.

34. System used for many returns: E-FILE.

35. Word with dark or hours: AFTER.

36. Suitable: APT.

37. 1972 host to Nixon: MAO. Tricky Dickie's groundbreaking trip to China to meet the Chairman.

40. Horatian creation: ODE.

Be wise, and mix the wine, since time is short: limit that far-reaching hope.

The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:

Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.

From "Carpe Diem"

43. Billboards and posters: SIGNAGE.

46. From __ Z: A TO.

47. Vance of "I Love Lucy": VIVIAN. Ethel to Lucy.

48. Lackluster: ANEMIC.

49. Calm: SERENE.

51. Stocking shades: ECRUS.

52. It may be fitted: SHEET.

54. Finish choice: MATTE.

55. OPEC units: BBLS. How does a barrel of oil get abbreviated to BBL? Because the 42-gallon drums were originally blue, so a Blue Barrel, or a BBL.

56. Lively country dance: REEL.

57. Decides what's fair, among other things: UMPS. Baseball umpires. Fair or foul ball.

58. Tall __: TALE.

62. Got on the ballot: RAN.

63. Round Table VIP: KNT. I've grumbled about this abbreviation before, so I'll spare you my moans. I still don't like it though.

Back stateside after my sojourn in England. I got very lucky with the weather, I only needed the umbrella on two days out of 16, which must be some kind of record in December. Here's the beach at Shoreham-on-Sea looking towards Brighton on Christmas Morning:

And that does it for me. Here's the grid:

Steve

Wednesday, January 2, 2019, Robin Stears

Looking for Nemo.

Each word in the starred theme answer can be placed aHEAD of the word FISH to give us a particular type of Fish.

17-Across. * Jewelry alloy: WHITE GOLD.  White Gold is an alloy of gold and one other white metal, such as nickel, manganese or palladium.  I actually prefer white gold to yellow gold.

In keeping with today's theme, we get Whitefish and Gold Fish. The scientific name of Whitefish is Coregonus clupeaformis.  This fish lives in cold, deep-water lakes in the northern United States and Canada.  There is nothing better than a good smoked whitefish.  This fish is also used in making the best gefilte fish.

Who doesn't like a good Goldfish?

25-Across. * Genre that may be featured in the Eurovision Song Contest: SWEDISH ROCK.  I am not aware of this genre, however, the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv in May 2019.  Hmm... Last time I checked, Tel Aviv was in Asia.

Our fish for this clue are the Swedish Fish, which are really candies.  You can probably get some at the Eurovision Song Contest.

And we also have Rock Fish.

38-Across. * Sleight-of-hand scam: SHELL GAME.  A Shell Game is a type of con game designed to separate you from your money.

This clue gives us ShellFish.  Did you known that Shellfish isn't kosher?

We also get Game Fish, which is something you hope to get when you go Fly Fishing.  Dick Chaney does a lot of Fly Fishing in the movie Vice.

53-Across. * Food brand whose products include Caribbean curry paste and Jamaican jerk seasoning: TROPICAL SUN.  I am not familiar with this brand of food products.

I  am, however, familiar with the fish this clue produces:  It gives us Tropical Fish.

And Sun Fish.

And now for the unifier: 65-Across. 1978 novelty song with the line "Eat them up! Yum!" ... and what both parts of the answers to starred clues can be: FISH HEADS.  The video is rather creepy.  No bad words, but watch at your own peril.

Across:

1. Fictional archaeologist Croft: LARA.  She is the heroine of the Tomb Raider series of video games and was portrayed in the movies by Angelina Jolie.

5. Prep for fight night: SPAR.

9. Furry critters who helped disable the shield generator on Endor: EWOKS.  The creepy creatures from the Star Wars movies.

14. Major work: OPUS.

15. La Scala song: ARIA.

16. "Mack the Knife" singer: DARIN.

Did you know that this song came from The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht?

19. Pull together: UNITE.

20. Frenzy: MANIA.

21. Plumeria garlands: LEIS.  Plumeria are very fragrant flowers found in Hawaii, as well as other warm climates.

23. CIA relative: NSA.  The National Security Agency is a relative of the Central Intelligence Agency.  I'd tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you.

24. "__ recall ... ": AS I.

29. Serenade: SING TO.

31. "Good comeback": TOUCHÉ!

32. Palm starch: SAGO.  Also known as tapioca.  I wonder if this is what is found in Bubble Tea.

33. Julia Louis-Dreyfus comedy: VEEP.  VEEP is political satire television show in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the Vice President of the United States.

37. London insurance pioneer: LLOYD.  Lloyd's of London has been in existence since 1688.  It began in Edward Lloyd's (1648 ~ 1713) coffee shop and initially covered marine and shipping insurance. 

41. Dispatch boat: AVISO.  This is a new word for me.  It comes from the Spanish and Portuguese word meaning "advice" or "warning."  Spitzboov can probably provide us with more information.

44. Apple desktop: iMAC.

45. Former Virginia senator Charles: ROBB.  Charles Spittal Robb (b. June 26, 1939) married Lynda Bird Johnson (b. 1944) in the White House on my birthday in 1967.  Kinda put a damper on my birthday party.

49. Sesame paste: TAHINI.

51. Daffy, for one: LISPER.

57. Lyft approx.: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.

58. Strike caller: UMP.  As in the Umpire at the baseball game.

59. H.G. Wells race: ELOI.  A crossword staple.  A reference to the novel The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells (né Herbert George Wells; Sept. 21, 1866 ~ Aug. 13, 1946).

60. Actor Pratt or Pine: CHRIS.  Chris Pratt (b. June 21, 1979) was in the television sit-com Parks and Rec.  He is also the hero of the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Chris Pine (b. Aug. 26, 1980) had played Captain Kirk in some of the recent Star Trek films.

62. Flower girl, perhaps: NIECE.

67. Come next: ENSUE.

68. "Dies __": IRAE.  A crossword staple.

69. Exactly, with "to": A TEE.

70. Baby carrier?: STORK.  My favorite clue of today's puzzle.

71. Sleek swimmers: EELS.  Also a fish, in keeping with today's theme.

72. Gerritsen who created Rizzoli and Isles: TESS.  Apparently TESS Gerritsen (b. June 12, 1953) is a writer of romantic thrillers, medical thrillers and a mystery series featuring police detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles.  Tess Gerritsen is a retired physician, so her Rizzoli and Isles series combine her love of both mystery and medicine.

Down:

1. Catholic service with minimal ceremony: LOW MASS.

2. Loss of speech: APHASIA.  I don't know what to say about this clue!!!

3. Making a mess of: RUINING.

4. Bubbly city: ASTI.  Home of Asti Spumante, a sparkling Italian wine.

5. Mattress problem: SAG.  I first tried Pea, as in the Princess and the Pea.

6. Orwellian worker: PROLE.  A reference to 1984, the novel by George Orwell (né Eric Arthur Blair; June 25, 1903 ~ Jan. 21, 1950).

7. Didn't feel well: AILED.

8. Diameter halves: RADII.  The plural of Radius.  Also, apparently, a brand of sneakers.

9. College URL ending: .EDU

10. Pallid: WAN.

11. Venezuelan river: ORINOCO.  This river appears on occasion in the puzzles.  It is one of the  major rivers of South America.

12. Tacky: KITSCHY.

13. Moved furtively: SNEAKED.

18. NCAA's Big __: EAST.  College sports.  

22. Mach 1 flier: SST.

26. Made on a loom: WOVE.

27. Ian who plays Bilbo Baggins: HOLM.  That's Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (b. Sept. 12, 1931), to you. He played Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings.

28. Things used for good measure?: RULERS.  Another fun clue.

30. Scuttlebutt: GOSSIP.

34. Nutmeg State Ivy Leaguer: ELI.  A student who attends Yale University.

35. Shade tree: ELM.

36. Vardon Trophy org.: PGA.  Golfing trophy.  It looks nice and a bit old-timey.

39. Hägar the Horrible's daughter: HONI.

40. Civil rights gp.: ACLU.  As in the American Civil Liberties Union.  In a year, the ACLU will celebrate its 100 anniversary.  It was founded on January 19, 1920.

41. Brings into harmony: ATTUNES.

42. Critter, in dialect: VARMINT.  Varmint to hunt when it's not deer season.

43. "Fingers crossed!": I HOPE SO!

46. Perform surgery: OPERATE.  Does the doctor know what he is doing?  I Hope So!

47. Happens to, quaintly: BETIDES.  I haven't had occasion to use this word.

48. Copper-zinc alloys: BRASSES.

50. Party host's bagful: ICE.  Sorry Tin!

52. Snowfall measure: INCH.  My first thought was Feet.  When I grew up, that is how we thought of the snowfall.  Now that I live in the south, we rarely get snow, but when we do, it's usually less than an inch and last only hours.

54. 2004 Jude Law title role: ALFIE.  A remake of the film that originally starred Michael Cain.  What's it all about?

55. Orléans' river: LOIRE.  I had to learn all of the rivers of France when I was in high school.

56. Rope fiber: SISAL.

61. __ index: HEAT.  A measure of how hot it feels when taking into account the relative humidity.  Our local weather forecaster often says "It's 96 degrees, but the the feel like temperature is 97 degrees."  Yeah, I can tell the difference.

63. Mongrel: CUR.

64. Startled cry: EEK!

66. "__ Just Not That Into You": 2009 film: HE'S.  I think this qualifies as a Rom-Com.

I hope you didn't have to do too much Fishing to get all the answers.  Here's the Grid.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019 Derek Bowman

"A Classic to Start the Year"

21. With 27-Across, 50-Across classic: THE CATCHER.

27. See 21-Across: IN THE RYE.

45. 50-Across work featuring the two youngest Glass siblings: FRANNY AND ZOOEY.

50. Author born 1/1/1919: JD SALINGER.   CSO to a member of our California Coven contingent,  JD !

68. Title heroine in one of 50-Across' "Nine Stories": ESME.

Great start to the New Year !   It is also the 100th anniversary of the JD Salinger's birth.

I must admit that I've never read The Catcher In The Rye, nor any other of JD Salinger's work.   I knew of Catcher, and have learned that the main character was Holden Caulfield, but that was about it.  I learned of Esme as a crossword staple, but never heard of Franny and Zooey.

See where The Catcher In The Rye ranks on various Ranker listings.  You can add your vote on the various lists.

Across:

1. Language of southern Africa: BANTU.

6. City west of Tulsa: ENID.

Enchanted Learning

10. Gas station machines: PUMPS.  Fuel dispensers.   Tokheim was a leading manufacturer of fuel dispensing systems and point of sale (pay at the pump) that began in Cedar Rapids, grew to dominance while based in Ft Wayne, and fell to bankruptcy in the early 2000s.
  

Petroliana

15. Bran benefit: FIBER.

16. Traditional teachings: LORE.

17. Undersea WWII threat: U-BOAT. English for the German U-boot.  Undersea boat.   On June 4, 1944, the first enemy warship captured by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812 was the German U-boat 505.   She was captured off the coast of West Africa and towed to Bermuda.    The U-505 is on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.   There are also some neat videos on YouTube such as showing her being moved into her final resting place,  as well as a video tour taken by someone that visited the museum and the U-505 exhibit.   Spitzboov might have read about this before, given his background and interests.

18. Pre-euro coin: FRANC.   As in France, Belgium, Luxembourg.   The Swiss franc, not the Euro, is still the official monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein.  Fair warning: Euros will be accepted, but your change will be given in francs, and you probably won't get a favorable exchange rate.

19. Historical times: ERAs.

20. Email back: REPLY.  

24. "Star Trek" captain Jean-__ Picard: LUC,  looking exasperated here.  Maybe Data just told him he did a Reply All, rather than a Reply.    Crossword shout out to Santa Barbara Picard.

Jean-Luc Picard at FANDOM

28. Dean's list no.: GPA.  I'd wager there were some pretty high ones by the regulars here. 

31. Number that's a square of itself: ONE.  Squaring a number means multiplying that number by itself.  The result of squaring is a square.  For example, squaring 2 (2x2) is 4.  4 is the square of 2.  Squaring 1 would be (1x1) which results in a square of 1.  One is the loneliest number.

Let's do a little more algebra.  Cubing a number means to multiply a number by its square or to multiply a number by itself twice.  So, 2x2x2=8.   Let's try it with a larger number, say 26.   26x26x26=17,576.   Not coincidentally, that result represents the finite number of all possible letter combinations in an English language non-Rebus crossword puzzle three-letter answer.  All you have to do is remember all 17,576 three letter abbreviations and words from AAA to ZZZ, and you'll be on your way to crossword solving stardom. Or maybe not.

(Fermatprime and Bill G subconsciously checked my math on that one.)

32. "Neither snow __ rain ... ": NOR will keep C.C.s blogging team from blogging the daily puzzle.  An occasional mental lapse or technical difficulty might, but not snow nor rain nor holiday.

33. Tags on bags: IDs.  We know that Steve's luggage tags are current.

34. Fishy bagel topper: LOX.

35. Play sections: ACTS.  Hahtoolah is a patron of the arts, enjoying the opera and the theater.

37. Words repeated after "Whatever" in a Doris Day song: WILL BE.  The lovely Doris Day sings Que Sera Sera

40. Halloween garb: CAPE.  Supeman and Batman weren't as big this year, and there were a few other caped characters that sadly I did not recognize, yet still so cute !

41. Because of: DUE TO.  I guess it was due to not having any big Batman or Superman blockbusters in the last few years. 

43. With 59-Across, liver delicacy: FOIE. 
59. See 43-Across: GRAS.

44. Tear up: SHRED.  Dash T would have wanted me to embed a video of Alex Lifeson of Rush shredding his guitar playing Working Man, but I'd already channeled CrossEyedDave.

That cat is keeping time with Alex's guitar and Neal Peart's beat.   Must have an unseen IPOD Air in the far ear.

48. "La Cage aux Folles," for one: FARCE.  A musical play and movie.   Never heard of it.  Just learned that it was the basis of the American remake, The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams.


49. Come up: ARISE.

55. "Assuming that's true ... ": IF SO.

58. John Roberts' group: Abbr.: SCOTUS.  Supreme Court Of The United States.

63. Having regrets about: RUING.    "When tomorrow comes, and we regret, the things we said today"  are lyrics you'll hear in the video at 26D. 

65. Corn cover: HUSK.   Once dried, the traditional wrapping for Mexican style tamales.  I believe Lucina and family use these.  On Saturday, my friend that hails from Honduras brought us some of his mother's Honduran style tamales wrapped in banana leaves.  Chicken, potatoes, rice and an olive encased in the masa. So good !

66. Kitchen strainer: SIEVE.

67. Come to terms: AGREE.  Fair enough. 

69. Trip around the sun: ORBIT.

Planet Facts - The Solar System

70. Adventurous expedition: QUEST.

71. Like pink hair: DYED.

72. And/or divider: SLASH.   Guns N' Roses guitarist: SLASH. 

Down:

1. Bud 4 life: BFF.  Buddy for life / Best Friend Forever.

2. Broadcast: AIR.  Not sure what genre of music aired at KHAK in Cedar Rapids when Desper-otto worked there, but it is now "#1 In Country".   JzB wouldn't be a fan.  He doesn't care for Country music.  

3. Cavs' org.: NBA.  The Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.   Not getting as much national broadcast air time now that LeBron has packed his bags and moved to L.A.    PK is an NBA fan. 

4. Camp shelter: TENT.   Yellowrocks said she is now past her tent pitching days.  Me too.  A cabin with a fireplace and a comfortable bed appeals to my older bones.  

5. Sea __: spiny critter: URCHIN.  Seems that puffer fish can be spiny as well.  See 56D.

6. Really amaze: ELECTRIFY.

7. "CBS This Morning" co-anchor O'Donnell: NORAH

8. Infuriated: IRATE.   I know of a certain thespian who has been infuriated with the recent delivery  performances of the Los Angeles Times. 

9. Gave details of: DESCRIBED.   Remember when Dudley described one of his contractors as "Ed the Enthusiastic Blaster" ? 

10. Baby food options: PUREES.  Oas traveled last week to see his newest grandchild.

11. Ride-sharing app: UBER.  Husker Gary is a satisfied user of this app, based on his comments upon returning from his trip to Washington D.C.

12. Messy hairdo: MOP.

13. Bud: PAL. Clecho w/ 1D.    Gal Pal: Tinbeni's significant other. 

14. Farmyard pen: STY.

22. Plenty, in old poems: ENOW.  This means ASAP in the internet era, along w/ email, e-tail, eCommerce...

23. Jekyll's bad side: HYDE.

24. "Get a __ of this!": LOAD.

25. Release from shackles: UNCUFF.

26. Part of etc.: CETERA.  Et's brother Peter was a singer, songwriter and bassist for the rock band Chicago, before launching his solo career.   Here's Peter singing a song he wrote when he was still with Chicago:


28. If-looks-could-kill looks: GLARES. I'd probably be a goner from all the glares of the Peter Cetera fans.

29. Olive Oyl's guy: POPEYE.  They were played by Shelly Duvall and Robin Williams in the 1980 musical comedy. 

30. Used a hatchet on: AXED.

36. Original co-host of "The View": STAR JONES.

38. Hawaii's Mauna __: LOA.  Michael Sherline can probably see it from his lanai.

39. "Mary Poppins Returns" actor __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.    inanehiker will have have nailed this one.  She wrote on Sunday that she saw it last week !   BTW,  Miranda is also the name of one of Uranus' 27 moons.   Miranda means "worthy of admiration."

 5 Lessons on Creativity From 'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

40. Miss singing on Sunday?: CHOIR GIRL.   Boomer sang in the church choir, but as a choir boy.

42. Like some audiobooks: ON CD.

44. Irritated: SORE.  I think Irish Miss was irritated when she discovered her Discover Card had a fraudulent charge for a airline flight.  An unneeded hassle, for sure.

46. Bitter end?: NESS.   Canadian end ?:  Eh.   She's never shown any bitterness.

47. Turns abruptly: ZAGS.  Some of OKL's lines take abrupt zags that I didn't see coming !

51. Throbbed: ACHED.  Long suffering  Red Sox fans like Wilbur Charles ached for a World Series Championship ring, and were finally rewarded in 2004.

52. Crummy: LOUSY.  Wally, Beaver and Eddie Haskell used the word crummy quite often.

53. "I'm here": IT'S ME.   Pretty song.  Love the piano and horns.


54. Microwaved: NUKED.

55. Baghdad's country: IRAQ.  Abejo worked next door in Iran. 

56. Japanese pufferfish: FUGU.  Almost looks unreal.   Jinx, what say you ?

57. Colt's father: SIRE.

60. Country's McEntire: REBA.   If you look at that graphic of Oklahoma above, she was born and raised southwest of Lake Eufala and northeast of Lake Texoma.  The city of McAlester and town of Kiowa respectively.  


61. Rental car choice: AVIS.   Their catchphrase was, "We try harder."   I had a Hertz gold card.  It was really nice when flying into Minneapolis or New York in the winter months.  The car was always warmed up and running.  Their motto was "Hertz puts you in the driver's seat."   After Hertz failed me, I started renting from Enterprise.   "We'll pick you up" is their slogan.   

62. Actor Rogen: SETH.

64. Understand: GET.

66. Distress letters: SOS.    Save Our Souls (or Ship).   If you didn't care for Reba above, perhaps Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid are more to your liking ?


Here's the grid.